Never There For You
by Kianra17
Summary: It is three years after the incident in the Phantom's lair. Christine is pregnant with Raoul's first child; but Raoul is never home to care for her. Erik decides that he needs to find out why. CHAPTER 3 UP!
1. Determination

_Hi everyone! My name is Kara, and you may have read this story before. I know. My old name got deleted for another story that went against the rules. Well, Kianra's back and she's added a number to her name!! So, I'm putting up this chapter and chapter two. If you reviewed for one before, I'd love it if you could review again... and then review 2 too. Thanks. You don't have to do that though!!

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Footsteps resounded down the brightly lit hall. A man in about his forties stood in the doorway. He was tall, about 6'2 and had dark brown hair that was slicked backwards. Golden eyes darted from here to there, demanding that someone even dare challenge him. But the one thing that really set him apart was the mask. He wore a white half mask over the one side of his face.

Other than the mask, he was a very handsome man. Christine stood slowly. "Erik." she breathed. "What are you doing here? How did you find where I live?"

"It's not hard, Christine," Erik said, stalking into the room and taking a seat on the chaise lounge, "To find out were the Vicomte de Chagney lives." the one visible eyebrow raised.

"But what are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I've simply come to say congratulations…" the man's gaze shifted to Christine's swollen abdomen. "…on your pregnancy. Baby de Chagney, eh?"

Christine's hands immediately cradled her stomach, as if she was worried that Erik would try to harm her unborn child. "Yes. The baby will be born next month."

The woman crossed the room and sat on the couch opposite of Erik. Her eyes cast down. "I'm truly sorry about what hap—" she began. Erik held his hand up and she closed her mouth.

"Where is your darling husband, Christine?" Erik said slyly.

"He's… out. Raoul is a very busy man." Christine blushed.

"Raoul is out of town again, is he?" Erik shook his head.

"Yes. But I love him so much that him being away just makes me love him more." Christine stated, standing up for her husband.

Erik's rich baritone laugh filled the room. Christine scowled. "Love him more? Indeed. It probably just makes you happy that he isn't at home to act like the fool he truly is. I just pray that your child is much like you, Christine, and not that wimp that calls himself a man."

"Erik! If you're going to speak of my husband that way, I must ask that you leave." Christine stood up. Erik did as well.

She watched warily as the man behind the mask stepped closer to her. Christine lowered her head, and averted her gaze. Erik put a single finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. Leaning in closely, Erik brushed her lips. Christine's eyes widened. She took a step back, and then sat on the couch.

"I promised him…" she whispered. Then with anger flashing in her brilliant blue eyes, she glared at Erik. "Leave me. Now! NOW!" then she stood and rushed out of the room as fast as her pregnant body would allow her.

Erik sighed and watched her go. Then he walked valiantly out of the grand looking house that must've cost Raoul only a small dent in his very large pocket, and hailed a carriage.

"459 Potters Drive." Erik demanded, telling the driver the address of his new home. The home beneath the Opera House had become too emotionally upsetting to him. Climbing into the carriage, the man made himself comfortable as the driver clicked at the horses to get them to go.

The drive wasn't particularly long, just a block or two away, but Erik had a lot to think about. What had driven him to kiss Christine? She was married now to that Raoul. He snorted loudly. Some marriage. The man was barely home, and Erik suspected something was going on. Political business did not fill your time so when you really cared for the woman that you called your wife.

As the driver pulled up to Erik's home, he stepped out and smiled. The house was quaint, out of the way two story, and perfect for him. It was made of a tan brick, and had a small pathway made of the same brick leading up the doorway. Flowers grew along side of the path, planted by Erik's house keeper, Mrs. Plof, who came once a week.

Plodding up the path, Erik's mind was still swirling. He unlocked the door and walked in. Ayesha, his cat, immediately came up to him and rubbed against his legs. Erik bent down to brush the hair off and patted the cat's head before he straightened.

Walking up the stairs, Erik came to his bedroom door and walked in. It was a boring room in reality, nothing was ever touched but the bed. A vase of red roses sat on his nightstand. Clearly Mrs. Plof had been there already for the week.

Erik lay back on the bed and rubbed his temples. Why him? Why was he plagued with such headaches. Shaking his head, Erik walked to his closet. Opening the door, he pulled out a large suitcase.

Something was going on with the Vicomte, and he was going to make it his job to find out. Only this morning, the paper had announced that there was a meeting in the Paris Opera house with the Vicomte to settle financial affairs. Then the Vicomte would be going to Italy to have a conference with some of his political friends. Erik suspected that there had to be something else going on.

When Erik had packed some suits and toiletries, he reached into his closet again. Pulling out his cape and fedora, Erik put them on and faced the mirror. He may no longer be the Phantom of the Opera, but he had to admit that he still looked pretty menacing in this outfit.

Walking out of the room, Erik strode down the steps and out of the front door, suitcase in hand. He saw that at the moment there were no carriages around. Walking up to his own small stable, Erik pulled out his black thoroughbred and mounted her. L'ange de Musique, as he'd named her, been his horse since the day that he had decided he needed something to do the day that he'd moved into the new house. At first he'd been skeptical about naming her something that he related to Christine, but then it'd seemed only fitting. _'Angel of Music'_ her name translated to, though Erik just liked to call her Ange.

Easing Ange out of the stable, Erik set off down the road. He had totally forgotten about his suitcase._ But_, he then thought, _what do I need a suitcase for if I'm just going to be investigating the whole time?_

Erik smiled at the thought of exposing Raoul at his worst moment. Ange cantered along the road. Erik held onto her with one hand, and held his Fedora on with the other. It was going to be a long, long trip.

_I hope people enjoy this. It's going to be pretty interesting. The first part is just Erik exposing Raoul, while the second part is the aftermath of that._

_R &R_

Kara


	2. No Clue Yet

_Thank you for your patience. I really like this story. It's a bit slow at first, but it'll get better. I promise.

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Ange slowed down. Erik sighed. He'd been traveling for three days straight now. Maybe it was time for a rest. He needed to get to Italy before Raoul did if he was going to find anything out!

Spotting a roadside inn, Erik urged Ange over to it. Tying the horse at the hitching post, Erik walked into the inn. Loud music immediately greeted him. It wasn't the soft pleasant music he was used to playing and singing at his house on his organ, but instead was rough yelling and pounding of keys. It was worse than Don Juan!

Erik took a seat at the counter. A waitress with an extremely low, plumed top sauntered over to him and batted her eyelashes. "Would you like anything to drink, sir?" she crooned.

The Phantom rolled his eyes. "Yes, a water please. And I'd like a room for the night, and a stable for my horse."

"Oh, all right. You'll want to talk to Suzann over there." the waitress nodded toward a voluptuous woman with red curly hair swept on top of her head. "She'll get you all hooked up." the waitress walked away for a moment before sliding a tall glass of ice water down the bar. Erik clutched it and took a drink.

When he had finished the water, he stood up and walked over to Suzann. "Excuse me, ma'am?" he said.

Suzann spun around to face the masked man. "Yes." she raised an eyebrow and appraised him.

"I'm interested in a room for one night and a place to board my horse." Erik stated, his face showing no emotion.

"Ahh… you wouldn't be interested in any other services, would you?" she winked.

"No." Erik said firmly.

Suzann's face fell. "All right. Come this way." She paused, and turned to a scraggly man with brown hair and an unshaven face. "Can you hook up that horse outside with a stable? Thanks."

Suzann led Erik up the steps to a long hall lined with doors. The music could still be heard quite clearly and Erik moaned. He hated roadside inns. Suzann sauntered into one of the end rooms. Erik cringed when he saw that it was already occupied.

"Alright you two. You have three minutes to finish up and be out of here. This man needs this room. Its our only empty one." Suzann pushed Erik out of the room and he stood against the wall.

In two minutes, a man emerged looking quite bedraggled. Then a woman did too, she smiled at Erik and he raised his eyebrow. Suzann rolled her eyes. "They never ask permission. I get tired of this."

Suzann walked into the room before Erik and quickly made the bed. Erik pulled his wallet from his pocket and handed the woman the pay for one night. She smiled warmly at him and then walked out of the door.

Taking off his suit jacket, pants, cape, mask and fedora, Erik sighed and flopped on the bed, not caring what had gone on before he'd come in. Within an instant, he was asleep, dreaming of exposing the Vicomte in his worst moment.

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Sunlight shone in through the window. Erik blinked and then squinted in the bright light. Standing up, he did the best he could to straighten his bedraggled shirt. Pulling on his pants and jacket, Erik walked over to a small bureau where he'd set his mask and fedora. Shaking his head at the disfigured side of his face, Erik slid on the mask and fedora. Hanging on the door knob was his cape and he draped that over his arm and walked down the creaky old steps to the bar downstairs.

The waitress who'd worked last night was still there, and Suzann was in the process of kicking out three very drunk men. Erik took a seat at the bar. The waitress grinned. "Hi. Sorry I was so rude last night. Evenings are always torture. I'm Paulette." the woman held out her hand.

"I'm Erik." he replied, and shook it.

"So, Erik. What brings you to this run down place?" Paulette asked, and sat down on a stool that was obviously on the other side of the bar.

Erik pondered what to say to her. "Well, I'm actually trying to figure something out. A good female friend of mine is married, but her husband is never home. Perhaps you've heard of Vicomte Raoul de Changey?" Erik asked.

Paulette grinned. "Oh my yes. He's supposed to be the most handsome man around."

Erik snorted. "Anyway, I'm going to figure out _why_ he isn't ever home."

The waitress nodded. "A noble cause indeed. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Yes, that would be wonderful." Erik smiled.

"Hey, Bart! We need two breakfasts out here. Just do the special." she exclaimed. Turning back to Erik she raised an eyebrow. "Why do you wear the mask?"

Erik flinched. "My face is horribly disfigured. People get frightened at the sight of it." the man shrugged.

Bart, who was a portly man wearing a stained apron walked out carrying two dishes of eggs and bacon. "Who's the second one for?" he sneered, setting them down on the counter.

"Me." said Paulette. "I haven't eaten since yesterday at lunch."

Bart snorted and waddled back into the kitchen.

"He's grouchy. Not much of a morning person I'm afraid. But he is a good cook." Paulette began to eat her breakfast. Erik did as well.

With his fork, Erik plucked up the last bit of egg and popped it into his mouth. "That was delicious. What do I owe you?" he asked reaching into his pocket for his wallet.

"Its on the house. I don't care." Paulette said.

"Thanks." Erik said with heartfelt sincerity. He picked up Paulette's hand and placed a gentle kiss on it. Her eyes widened. Men didn't treat women like this anymore! Then he bowed and left the inn.

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Erik mounted Ange and clicked his mouth. They set out at a fast pace, heading towards the city where Raoul would be having his meeting with the other men. It was going to be a long journey, for sure.

They traveled as quickly as possible until he reached the next small town. Erik sighed and tied Ange again at the post. Walking into the inn, which was a bit more upper-class than the other had been, Erik sat down at the bar.

"A champagne, please." he asked, needing something to calm his frazzled nerves.

The waitress slid a glass of champagne in front of him. Taking a sip, Erik surveyed his surroundings. Then his eyes widened. On the other side of the room, immersed deeply in conversation, was _Raoul!!

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_Did you enjoy it? R&R!! Thank you!!_

_ Kara  
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	3. New Questions

Chapter Three

Erik slid off of the bar stool. Pulling his fedora down over his eyes, he walked over to where the man was sitting, deeply immersed in conversation. Erik took a seat at the booth beside Raoul's. His back was facing him so the man wouldn't see him. Straining his ears, Erik listened closely to the Vicomte's conversations.

"It's not going to be shipped on time, Raoul!" exclaimed the man sitting on the opposite of Raoul.

"But it has to. My wife needs me. I haven't been home because of this!" Raoul pouted.

"Raoul, isn't it something else besides the fact that they won't ship?" Erik's brows furrowed at the man's statement.

The Vicomte laughed heartily. "You are right my good man. Well, I think that I'll retire for the evening. Is the stock covered?" Raoul asked shadily.

"Yes. Don't worry about it." His companion whispered.

Raoul stood up and started to walk down to the stairs that led to the sleeping quarters. Erik began to get up to follow him when a waitress came over. "Can I take your order, sir?"

Erik rolled his eyes. "No. But I need a room. And be fast."

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Creeping up the steps, Erik looked at the card in his hand. '10954' it read. That was his room number. But while the woman had been checking him in, he'd stolen a glance at the guest sheet and found out that the Vicomte was staying in room '10953'. Just his luck. Raoul was right beside him. Now he could maybe find out what was going on.

Walking into his room, Erik took off his hat and hung it on a pole of the four poster bed. He slid out of his cape and hung it on a hanger in the closet. Then he walked over to his bed and sat down with a sigh.

Laying back he concentrated to see if he could hear anything. The bed was right by the wall, so Erik rolled over and put his ear against the cool wallpaper. Muffled talking was heard, and then footsteps. Erik couldn't understand a thing!!

Giving up, Erik pulled back the covers and settled in. Sighing, he settled into a deep sleep. He awoke the next morning as the sun came up. Pulling back the covers, Erik jumped out of bed and headed over to the small bathroom where he washed his face and the small basin of water that the inn had provided.

Stepping out into the hall, with his cape and fedora on, Erik began to walk down the hall. He heard two voices in the Vicomte's room, and back stepped a bit. Getting down onto all fours, Erik tried to peer under the door. He strained his ears. Nothing. There was silence.

Suddenly, the door opened. A woman in a very slinky dress opened the door. She raised a perfect eyebrow and looked down at Erik. "Is this one of your hobbies, to spy under people's door?" she asked.

Erik's eyes widened and he lowered his fedora farther over his face. Women like these always freaked out if they saw the mask. "Uh…" Erik cleared his throat. "No, no. I dropped something. It rolled under one of these three doors, but I didn't catch which one. Guess it wasn't this one."

Why was this woman in the Vicomte's room? Maybe he'd read the sheet wrong. Yes. That had to be it. He'd read the sheet wrong. Erik glanced nervously around the hallway, and the woman tapped her foot. "OH! There it is!" Erik walked over to the door on the other side of the hall where a small copper coin lay. "Sorry for interrupting. Did I interrupt something?"

"No. My husband and I were just waking up." She rolled her eyes.

Before the door closed, Erik was positive that he heard Raoul's voice –and another man's as well.

Erik shook his head and headed down the hall.

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Erik ate a quick breakfast down in the dining area and then paid for his expenses. The waitress smiled at the mysterious man. He tipped his fedora and then headed out the door to the stables where Ange was waiting. During breakfast he'd had someone saddle her up.

But when he was on the horse, Erik didn't go anywhere. He backed the horse behind the stable where it was out of sight. Then he waited for Raoul. The best way for him to discover what the Vicomte was up to, he needed to follow the man.

Raoul walked out of the inn after Erik had been waiting for an entire hour. The man walked out and Erik grinned as he climbed into a carriage with open windows. Raoul settled down and immediately was sleeping. Erik frowned. Hadn't he just woken up?

Urging Ange forward, Erik followed the carriage. He was sure to keep off of the road and in the shadows of the trees. Raoul never thought something out of place. With a smile, Erik followed the Vicomte at least twenty miles that day.

Ange was extremely tired by the time Raoul's carriage stopped. Well, it stopped, but there were no inns so Raoul had to stay in his carriage. The problem was that the Vicomte had already slept the whole day.

Raoul bounded out of the carriage. He walked over to the driver and told him something. The driver nodded and handed the Vicomte a gun. The man ran into the forest. With Erik's luck, he'd kill himself…

The Phantom followed the Vicomte until he saw him walk over to a swamp. Erik groaned. Raoul stepped into the mud, then his eyes widened. He tried to get out, but was stuck! He was sinking.

Erik rolled his eyes. This came as no surprise to Erik. Now was he going to save him… or not?

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_Sorry it's not too long. I don't have time. I have to leave in two minutes. Besides, I like stopping there!_

_Kara_


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